Battle of Coni

The Battle of Coni (late April 1796) was a battle of the French Revolutionary Wars. A 1,028-strong detachment of France's Armee d'Italie, commanded by General Jean Seruier, assaulted the Sardinian city of Coni (Cuneo) in Piedmont, northern Italy towards the start of the Italian Campaign, hoping to apply pressure to the Sardinians as Napoleon Bonaparte campaigned against the Austrian Empire. The French faced Michele Colli's 1,228 Sardinian troopss and a contingent of 66 Austrian troops, leftovers from one of Napoleon's recent victories. The French cavalry assaulted the Sardinian right flank, drawing the Sardinians east, and the French right wing wheeled left to crush the Sardinian troops, many of whom were armed townspeople. On the right flank, the French launched a bayonet charge against the struggling Sardinian troops rather than engage in a drawn-out firing match in the woods, and the Sardinians were overwhelmed. The Sardinians were forced to capitulate, and the Cuneo region fell to France.